Department for Transport

Global Travel Taskforce

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Global Travel Taskforce is next scheduled to convene to discuss the outstanding recommendations from that Taskforce’s report of 24 November 2020.

Robert Courts: The Global Travel Taskforce has concluded its work. However, the Government is working closely and at pace with industry and our international partners to implement the taskforce recommendations and ensure a safe and sustainable return to international travel as quickly as possible. The taskforce recommendations addressed three priorities: implementing effective public health measures; encouraging safe growth in demand; and driving a co-ordinated response with global partners. As a first step, on 15 December the Government introduced the ‘Test to Release for International Travel’ scheme in England, allowing arrivals to pay for a privately provided Covid-19 test and reduce their required period of self-isolation if the test is negative.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which commercial aviation routes are being prioritised as part of the Government's plans to support the restart of the aviation sector in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Robert Courts: The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector?as a result of?COVID-19 and is committed to tackling this virus while enabling a sustainable and responsible return to travel. Commercial air transport routes are a matter for airlines, and therefore decisions on how soon to operate a route after a period of inactivity is a matter for those airlines. Since 10 July under the Travel Corridor policy, passengers arriving from a number of countries and territories are no longer required to self-isolate on arrival unless they have visited or transited through a non-exempt country or territory. Ministerial decisions on Travel Corridors are informed by risk assessments provided by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, working closely with Public Health England, using a methodology endorsed by the 4 Chief Medical Officers of the UK. As a further measure in support of international travel, the Test to Release scheme was launched on 15 December. This provides passengers arriving in England with the option to shorten the self-isolation period by up to half following a negative COVID-19 test.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which commercial aviation routes are being prioritised as part of the Government's plans to support the restart of the aviation sector in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Robert Courts: The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector?as a result of?COVID-19 and is committed to tackling this virus while enabling a sustainable and responsible return to travel. Commercial air transport routes are a matter for airlines, and therefore decisions on how soon to operate a route after a period of inactivity is a matter for those airlines. Since 10 July under the Travel Corridor policy, passengers arriving from a number of countries and territories are no longer required to self-isolate on arrival unless they have visited or transited through a non-exempt country or territory. Ministerial decisions on Travel Corridors are informed by risk assessments provided by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, working closely with Public Health England, using a methodology endorsed by the 4 Chief Medical Officers of the UK. As a further measure in support of international travel, the Test to Release scheme was launched on 15 December. This provides passengers arriving in England with the option to shorten the self-isolation period by up to half following a negative COVID-19 test.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is planning to take to support the aerospace sector under his Department's Aviation Recovery Plan.

Robert Courts: The Covid pandemic, and the need for the Government to respond to it, have clearly impacted the aviation and aerospace sectors. The Government has therefore announced through the Global Travel Taskforce, a number of measures to assist the sector to restart over the winter period. This includes the ‘Test To Release for international travel’ (TTR) scheme, which was launched on 15 December and will boost consumer confidence in air travel. Following the successful implementation of these measures, the government will then put forward its strategic framework for the medium and long term recovery of the aviation sector.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what engagement his Department of Transport has had with the aerospace industry to identify measures that could (a) safely open up aviation and (b) increase consumer confidence in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.

Robert Courts: The Government is working closely with the UK’s aerospace and aviation industries, including at sector level through the Aerospace Growth Partnership. In addition, the Global Travel Taskforce has undertaken extensive engagement with the transport industry, including aviation and aerospace, and are putting in place a range of measures to support a safe and sustainable return to air travel and encourage consumer confidence. On 15 December we introduced the ‘Test to Release for International Travel’ scheme in England, allowing arrivals from countries not on the travel corridors list to pay for a privately provided Covid-19 test and reduce their period of self-isolation if the test is negative.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is planning to take to support the aerospace sector under his Department's Aviation Recovery Plan.

Robert Courts: The Covid pandemic, and the need for the Government to respond to it, have clearly impacted the aviation and aerospace sectors. The Government has therefore announced through the Global Travel Taskforce, a number of measures to assist the sector to restart over the winter period. This includes the ‘Test To Release for international travel’ (TTR) scheme, which was launched on 15 December and will boost consumer confidence in air travel. Following the successful implementation of these measures, the government will then put forward its strategic framework for the medium and long term recovery of the aviation sector.

Nitrogen Oxides: East Sussex

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Channel Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Control Order Area on particulate matter emissions in (a) the Channel, (b) East Sussex and (c) Eastbourne; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Courts: The English Channel and North Sea will become a Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Control Area from 1 Jan 2021, applying the highest level of internationally agreed NOx controls for ships built after that date in the region – termed IMO Tier III. The Department undertook extensive modelling of the likely impacts on UK air quality in support of the designation of the area in 2016, and the impact of the measure will be kept under review through the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. While specific reductions for regions have not been analysed, on a per-ship basis the new standards will represent an 80% reduction in NOx emissions from existing Tier I vessels, with significant reductions in secondary particulate matter formation expected.

Aviation: Environment Protection

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government will take to ensure a green aviation recovery.

Robert Courts: We are considering the future of the sector in terms of sustainability. The aviation sector must be a green one that creates high quality, skilled jobs. The Jet Zero Council has now set out ambitions on sustainable aviation fuel, zero-emission aviation and aerospace technologies. Following the successful implementation of our aviation restart measures, the government will then put forward its strategic framework for the medium and long term recovery of the aviation sector, and set out a pathway for recovery to sustainable growth. We will be consulting on our position on aviation and climate change in the new year.

Shipping

Joy Morrissey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that (a) the UK has access to sufficient shipping capacity and (b) capacity is not being withheld to manipulateshipping costs.

Robert Courts: Shipping is a global commercial market, and shipping lines will adjust their operations and pricing to take account of demand and market fluctuations. Shipping lines are currently facing a period of exceptional demand versus capacity that is causing price rises on an international level, and causing operational challenges worldwide. This includes operations into and out of the UK and Europe. Whilst this remains predominantly a commercial issue for the market to resolve, Government is liaising closely with shipping lines and ports to encourage mitigations and management of operations to minimise the impacts on the UK wherever possible.

Global Travel Taskforce

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timescales the Government has for implementing the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce.

Robert Courts: The recommendations contained in the Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report cover three broad principles: first, setting out clear public health measures; second, seeking to increase demand safely; and third, looking to the UK to drive a co-ordinated response with global partners. The Test to Release (TTR) scheme, one of the key recommendations in the GTT, went live on 15 December. This provides passengers arriving in England with the option to shorten the self-isolation by up to half following a negative COVID-19 test. The launch of TTR is just the first step – the remaining 13 recommendations also represent key deliverables that will play an important role in supporting industry to get back on a trajectory towards strong economic growth, and are being worked on at pace.

Bus Services: Finance

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's financial support package for coach businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has announced a range of measures available to support UK businesses, including coach operators. These include the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and I am pleased to note that there has been a high uptake of this scheme across the coach sector.We continue to work closely with representatives from the coach sector to understand the ongoing risks and issues the sector faces and how these can be addressed.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Retail Trade: Coronavirus

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Government made the decision to close specialist shops classified as non-essential retail and allow mixed retailers deemed essential to continue to sell the same non-essential retail items during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown; and what assessment his Department has made of the equity of that decision.

Paul Scully: Throughout the national restrictions, we sought to keep as much of the retail sector open as possible, whilst balancing the need to reduce our day-to-day contact. All shops could continue offering?click and collect?and delivery services.The decision to close non-essential retail was part of a wider package of measures to ensure that people stayed at home except for a limited set of exemptions.We were clear that a business selling a significant amount of essential retail may also continue to sell goods typically sold at non-essential retail. For example, a supermarket that sells food was not required to close off or cordon off aisles selling homeware.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his Department has had with officials from banks on extending the eligibility criteria for support from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government continues to enhance its engagement with a broad range of trade and representative bodies, in particular SME networks, to continue to understand the impact of Covid-19 on businesses and the concerns they have.The Bounce Back Loan Scheme is open to most businesses, regardless of turnover, who meet the eligibility criteria and who were established on or before 1 March 2020.The Scheme is targeted at supporting those businesses who need access to finance quickly and, therefore, requires lenders to offer a standard product. It is therefore the case that the Bounce Back Loan Scheme is not suitable for all businesses.There are a wide range of other Government measures to support public services, people and businesses through this disruption. Full details on the support available for businesses can be found on the GOV.UK website, or through contacting our business support helpline.

Billing: Coronavirus

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's news story, Advice for people struggling to pay essential bills because of coronavirus, published on 11 September 2020, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of requiring payment holidays to be extended.

Paul Scully: Throughout the Coronavirus crisis, Government and regulators have worked with regulated industries to support consumers who are struggling financially. The decision to extend support measures is taken in each sector to meet the varying needs of the consumers in those markets.For instance, FCA advises that consumers can until the end of March apply for payment deferrals including on mortgages, loans, credit cards, overdrafts, and motor finance. Ofcom recently asked telecoms providers to bring in further support, including proactively engaging with those in debt, and waiving penalty charges.

Business: Coronavirus

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what alternative methods of financial support are available to businesses who are unable to access support from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Scully: Throughout this crisis, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods across the UK, support businesses, and public services. The Government has spent over £280 billion to do so this year.If a business is not able to access the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the British Business Bank offers a range of other support including:Individuals who are starting a new business or who have been trading for less than two years can apply for a Start Up Loan, which offers loans (from £500 to £25,000, at 6% interest) alongside free mentoring and support.Businesses with a turnover of less than £45 million, and looking for up to £5 million in finance, can apply for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.Larger businesses with a group turnover of more than £45 million, looking for up to £200 million in finance, can apply for a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.The Future Fund issues convertible loans to innovative UK companies with good potential that typically rely on equity investment and are currently affected by Covid-19.To help small businesses understand and identify suitable finance options available, the British Business Bank’s website and Finance Hub offer a wide range of information on finance options.The support available through the British Business Bank is one part of an unprecedented range of measures to back business. Full details on the support available for businesses can be found on the GOV.UK website, or through contacting our business support helpline.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps (a) he and (b) his Department is taking to increase the number of accredited financial institutions taking part in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: Accrediting lenders for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme has been a priority for the British Business Bank. The Bank therefore put in place substantial additional resources to support new lender accreditation as well as creating a streamlined process within the Bank to help onboard new lenders as quickly as possible.The Bank has expanded the pool of delivery partners from seven at launch to 29 accredited lenders currently, substantially increasing access to the scheme for small businesses. The scheme remains open to new lenders to apply for accreditation and the Bank will continue to assess new applications while the scheme remains open.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses in England who have applied unsuccessfully to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: As of 15 November, 1,397,475 loans have been approved under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, with a total value of £42.18 billion.In total, the Bounce Bank Loan Scheme has received 1,766,768 applications. The applications figure includes: approved applications; applications that are still to be processed; applications that have been declined; and applications that may turn out not to be eligible or cases where customers have decided not to proceed.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to encourage banks to allow non-existing customers to access support from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government have always made clear to lenders that they should open to applications from new customers as soon as it is operationally possible for them to do so.Businesses are free to approach any accredited lender for a Bounce Back Loan.You can find a full list of accredited lenders on the British Business Bank website:https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/bounce-back-loans/current-accredited-lenders-and-partners/

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of businesses that can access support from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government continues to enhance its engagement with a broad range of trade and representative bodies, in particular SME networks, to continue to understand the impact of Covid-19 on businesses and the concerns they have.The Bounce Back Loan Scheme is open to most businesses, regardless of turnover, who meet the eligibility criteria and who were established on or before 1 March 2020.The Scheme is targeted at supporting those businesses who need access to finance quickly and, therefore, requires lenders to offer a standard product. It is therefore the case that the Bounce Back Loan Scheme is not suitable for all businesses.There are a wide range of other Government measures to support public services, people and businesses through this disruption. Full details on the support available for businesses can be found on the GOV.UK website, or through contacting our business support helpline.

Business: Christmas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to encourage people to support local businesses in the run up to Christmas.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to supporting local businesses during this crucial trading period.To support retailers in tiers 1-3, we have eased planning rules to allow shops to be open for longer Monday to Saturday from 2 December, giving consumers greater flexibility to choose when they shop. These measures will run through the January sales.Retailers in tier 4 can continue to offer click and collect, and delivery services which will help businesses keep trading.We have modified the closing time for hospitality to last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm. This allows customers to depart gradually and provides greater flexibility.The excellent Small Business Saturday UK event took place on the 5 December and was a great way to celebrate small and micro businesses across the UK, raise awareness of the importance of SME’s to our local communities and help them get back on their feet.My ministerial colleagues across Government and I were delighted to be able to take part on the day itself to champion our small businesses and draw attention to the brilliant campaign.

Personal Care Services: Coronavirus

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the National Hair and  Beauty Federation's December 2020 State of Industry survey; and what plans the Government has for specific support for that sector.

Paul Scully: From 2 December, close contact services have been allowed to open in Tiers 1-3. Unfortunately, due to the very rapid rise of infections in Tier 4 areas, close contact services are closed. The Government has put in place a wide-ranging package of financial support for sectors impacted by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Kickstart Scheme grants.

Oxford University: Coronavirus

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the finding of interim analysis of data from Phase III trials that the Oxford covid-19 vaccine is 70 per cent effective, for what reason his Department has ordered 100 million doses of that vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: The preliminary efficacy data is positive and indicates that the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is 70.4% effective across two different dosage regimens. One of these dose regimens could be up to 90% effective.To beat this pandemic, it has always been likely that we would need more than one vaccine. We have now seen excellent results with multiple vaccine candidates. There will be variations between the vaccines in how well they work for different population subgroups and how long the protection lasts, alongside other factors.The University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine has the distinct advantage that it can be stored at fridge temperature, making it easier to transport and distribute globally than other Covid-19 vaccines. The fact that the vaccine has been manufactured by AstraZeneca at cost also means it is affordable, potentially making this UK-developed vaccine a vaccine for the world.The Vaccine TaskForce’s portfolio includes different types of vaccine and we continue to keep the portfolio under review.

Digital Technology: Carbon Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) his policies, (b) research funding frameworks and (c) Industrial Strategy Challenge Funds of the findings of the report entitled Digital technology and the planet, Harnessing computing to achieve net zero, published by the Royal Society on 3 December 2020 on the net zero imperative.

Amanda Solloway: The BEIS Energy Innovation Programme supports smart energy by driving innovation in digital and data-enabled technologies for energy management and flexibility, including managing energy demand and creating platforms for trading energy resources. The new £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, outlined in the Energy White Paper, will build on this with a theme focussed on disruptive technologies aimed at improving efficiency and optimisation across the energy sectorThe R&D Roadmap set out the Government’s vision for research and development. Our goal is to further strengthen science, research and innovation across the UK, making them central to tackling the major challenges we face, including achieving net zero carbon emissions.The Government has set out plans at Spending Review to cement the UK’s status as a global leader in science and innovation by investing £14.6 billion in R&D in 2021/22. As the custodian of the R&D system, BEIS has been allocated £11.1bn for R&D in 2021/22.UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will drive the creation of a Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) with enhanced environmental sustainability that contributes to the UK government’s commitment to Net Zero. DRI comprises the ecosystem of data, computers, software and skills that are necessary for research and innovation. UKRI is developing a coherent national strategy for DRI that meets the requirements of UKRI’s research and innovation communities across disciplines and that will enable UKRI to take account of the environmental impact of its investments and make decisions that are environmentally sustainable in the long term.Alongside this strategy, UKRI promotes the AREA framework for responsible innovation, prompting researchers and innovators to Anticipate, Reflect, Engage and Act and so consider aspects such as impact of their work on net zero. Other examples of research related responses include:EPSRC has been working with DCMS on a combined telecoms strategy and input into digital standards and with DIT on the global market for UK digital technologies.Continued work with the Royce Institute, Faraday Institute, Turing Institute and centre for research in energy demand solutions will ensure materials, batteries, AI and energy demand research is incorporated into solutions.A priority research area that continues to feature in research investment plans such as the recently closed UKRI Digital Economy call ‘Sustainable Digital Society’.The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund has ten challenges that directly support the goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 – from reaching net zero in food production, to pioneering greener ways of flying, to developing the world’s first net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040. These represent a total of £1.16 billion in government investment. Prior to Covid-19, industry committed to co-invest £1.32 billion across these challenges.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to recognise the European Commission Memorandum of Understanding on the sale of counterfeit goods on the internet after the end of the transition period.

Amanda Solloway: The Government takes the infringement of IP rights seriously, and delivers a range of work through the UK IPO and other agencies to tackle the sale of counterfeit goods. Following the publication of the 2017 Industrial Strategy the IPO has facilitated a series of roundtables which have been working towards agreements with many of the same sales platforms and rights holder bodies who are signatories to the European Commission MoU. Given this work, and other ongoing domestic interventions, we have no current plans to adopt or formally recognise the European Commission MoU.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he had has with the Minister for the Cabinet office on proposals for a new UK research funding agency broadly modelled on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of that agency being established (a) being within the UKRI umbrella and (b) as an independent body.

Amanda Solloway: The Government continues to progress plans to establish a new research funding agency as soon as possible. Discussions are ongoing across Government at both official and Ministerial levels to develop and deliver the new agency. The Government has a high level of ambition for this new blue-skies research funding body, demonstrated by backing it with at least £800 million in funding over its first five years. There has been consideration of various options for how, and where, the body should be established to best meet that ambition.

OneWeb

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 83800 on OneWeb and with reference to the Spending Review 2020, from which area of his Departmental budget will the funding for the acquisition of OneWeb be allocated from; and what plans he has for future investment in the OneWeb satellite system.

Amanda Solloway: The budget for OneWeb is being allocated to the Department through the supplementary estimates and considered as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2020 process.The Government is investing $500m into OneWeb, and the Department through UKGI, will work closely with the company and other partners to raise additional private investment.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2020 to Question 124750 on Research: Public Expenditure, whether the Government has targets for increasing R&D investment year on year to meet its target of spending 2.4 per cent of GDP on R&D by 2027.

Amanda Solloway: In the Spending Review last month, my Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer said that to cement the UK’s future as a scientific superpower and drive economic growth, the government is investing £14.6 billion in R&D in 2021/22. It will be important to stimulate private sector investment and support public services to get the most out of our excellent research base and to achieve the 2.4% target.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to section 5.18 of the Spending Review 2020, published in November 2020, CP330, what his Department's timescale is for announcing the Governments research and innovation priorities for the disbursement of the £450 in 2021-22.

Amanda Solloway: This ambitious £450 million fund will support strategic government priorities, build new science capability and support the whole research and innovation ecosystem. This includes the first £50 million towards an £800 million investment by 2024/25 in high-risk, high-payoff research. Further details of how funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.

Hydrogen

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department is making with industry on developing the production of hydrogen by electrolysis.

Kwasi Kwarteng: My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister’s recent Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution set out that the Government, working with industry, is aiming for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030. In support of this we have also announced a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund for capital co-investment in new low carbon hydrogen production, to bring forward a combination of CCUS-enabled ‘blue’ hydrogen and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen projects. Both production methods – and other innovative techniques – will be needed to deliver hydrogen demand expected by 2050. Further details on hydrogen business models and a revenue mechanism to stimulate private sector investment in both green and blue hydrogen will be brought forward in 2021.

Attorney General

Domestic Abuse

Jessica Morden: To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to support the criminal justice system's ability to prosecute perpetrators of coercive and controlling behaviour.

Michael Ellis: This Government and the Crown Prosecution Service take cases of domestic abuse extremely seriously. Since the introduction of the Serious Crime Act 2015, which created an offence of coercive and controlling behaviour, the number of domestic abuse prosecutions have increased. The CPS has developed an ambitious twelve-month programme of work to help narrow the disparity between domestic abuse reporting and criminal justice outcomes, including, sharing best practice and revising guidance to support effective case handling of coercive and controlling behaviour crimes. It is essential that perpetrators, victims and their families know and understand that the criminal justice system remains open and is prioritising cases with high risk domestic abuse victims.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of patients whose treatment has been suspended or cancelled following the judgment in Bell v Tavistock.

Jo Churchill: The Gender Identity Development Service will ensure that appropriate psychosocial support and psychological therapies are available to patients who are removed from puberty blockers, as well as to their families and carers.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of referrals for the Gender Identity Development Service; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Since 2013 there has been a 500% increase in the number of young people referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS).Dr Hilary Cass has been commissioned to carry out a review of the service, exploring how and when young people are referred to the GIDS. This review is expected to report in autumn 2021.

Gender Recognition

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who have de-transitioned in each year since 2017.

Jo Churchill: The National Health Service and the Department do not routinely collect data on the number of people who sought medical intervention to reverse or undo a previous medical intervention for the alleviation of gender dysphoria.

Gender Recognition: Children

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the terms of reference for the independent review into gender identity services for children and young people will include (a) the relationship between (i) autism spectrum disorder and (ii) sexuality with gender dysphoria, (b) the potential effect of transgender organisations on gender dysphoria and (d) the experience of (A) desisters and (B) detransitioners; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The terms of reference for the independent review into gender identity services for children and young people are published on the NHS England and NHS Improvement at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/terms-of-reference-for-review-of-gender-identity-development-service-for-children-and-adolescents/The review will be wide-ranging and will make recommendations in relation to the best clinical approach for individuals with various complex presentations.

Dental Health: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to hold a public consultation on a national early years supervised toothbrushing scheme for England.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the (a) cost and (b) return on investment of rolling out supervised toothbrushing in early years settings for the 30 per cent most deprived children in England.

Jo Churchill: No date has yet been set for a consultation on a national early years toothbrushing scheme for England.We estimate the cost of rolling out a supervised toothbrushing scheme for 30% of the most deprived 3-5 year-olds would cost approximately £9 million per annum. The Public Health England Return on Investment tool estimates that supervised toothbrushing provides a five-year return of £3.06 for every £1 invested.

General Practitioners: Coronavirus

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the health impact of missed GP appointments as a result of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: General practice is open and people should continue to access services by phone, online or in person.Although general practitioner appointment numbers fell in the early stages of lockdown, practices remained open offering more remote consultations to see as many patients as possible while protecting staff and patients from avoidable risk of infection. Appointment numbers are recovering and are returning to levels seen before lockdown.Practices continue to undertake routine and preventative work including vaccinations and immunisations and screening, as well as supporting their more high-risk patients with ongoing care needs. Although it is still too early to carry out a full assessment of the impact, we continue to monitor the situation closely.

Influenza: Vaccination

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of dentists and dental staff being ineligible for a free flu vaccination on the ability of patients to access dental services; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Provision of flu vaccination for frontline health care workers, including National Health Service independent contractors such as dentists, is the responsibility of the employer, as part of their occupational health responsibility.Some dentists and other dental staff who are in an ‘at-risk’ group will continue to be eligible for a free flu vaccine under the flu programme.

Influenza: Vaccination

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of the flu vaccine by early December.

Jo Churchill: General practitioners and community pharmacists are directly responsible for ordering flu vaccine from suppliers, which are used to deliver the national flu programme to adults, with deliveries phased through the season.NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local areas to ensure that local providers are supported to meet increased demand for the flu vaccination this winter. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has granted dispensation to allow the movement of vaccines locally between practices and other National Health Service provider organisations this season, to help address local shortages.In addition, the Department has procured additional doses of adult seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available.

Dental Services: Children

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on oral health inequalities in children; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: No specific assessment has been made of the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on oral health inequalities in children.The Dental Public Health Epidemiology Programme annual oral health surveys which include children’s oral health have been affected. The 2019-2020 oral health survey of three-year-olds was suspended on the 18 March 2020 and the 2020-2021 oral health survey of five-year-olds has been suspended until summer term 2021.

Cancer: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people living with cancer in Stockport during the second wave of the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: During this second wave, cancer has been prioritised in the Greater Manchester area, including Stockport, and this has been agreed across all 11 hospital providers, to continue cancer surgery and at designated COVID-19 ‘green-sites’, ensuring the safety of staff and patients to enable procedures to continue to go ahead.Measures are in place, as in the first wave, to work together with hospitals around the whole of Greater Manchester to share provisions of staff and resources to ensure that patients from Stockport and every other locality in Greater Manchester have access to cancer treatment and important diagnostic procedures.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the projected reduction in cancer diagnoses in 2020 via GP referral and screening.

Jo Churchill: No assessments of the full effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on NHS services can be made until the pandemic is over and the data is available in full.One of the key priorities for cancer services is to restore the number of people coming forward and being referred with suspected cancer, and therefore having diagnostic tests, to at least pre-pandemic levels. By September 2020, the latest data published, urgent referrals were at the same levels in 2019. We are continuing to monitor this and are further encouraging anyone with symptoms to come forward to their general practitioners through our ‘Help Us Help You’ public awareness campaign.To support this, systems are ensuring sufficient diagnostic capacity in COVID-19 secure environments. Endoscopy capacity is being increased, and the capacity of surgical hubs expanded to meet demand. Specific actions are being put in place to support any groups of patients who might have unequal access to diagnostics and/or treatment, and all cancer screening programmes have restarted routine invitations.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many out-of-area mental health placements started in each NHS region in each month since March 2020.

Ms Nadine Dorries: During the height of the pandemic, the scrutiny on out-of-area (OAPs) placements was paused, acknowledging the need for providers to focus on managing the impact of the pandemic. NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance to the National Health Service on 26 March 2020, which provided a relaxation in the reporting of OAPs. Nationally, both bed occupancy and OAPs dropped significantly in March and April due to significant efforts to discharge people from hospital wherever it was safe to do so, coupled with reduced referrals and presentations. Bed occupancy began to increase again in May as lockdown eased, leading to a subsequent increase in OAPs from June. The available information requested1 is shown in the following table.RegionMarch 2020April 2020May 2020June 2020July 2020London Commissioning Region7535555095South West Commissioning Region7515506070South East Commissioning Region1530356050Midlands Commissioning Region856585120120East of England Commissioning Region5515301530North West Commissioning Region4515457070North East and Yorkshire Commissioning Region1005580120130Unknown Region5510105England (total)455230385505570Source: NHS Digital 1 rounded to the nearest 5 The percentage of organisations in scope which participated each month was as follows: March 2020: 89%; April 2020: 84%; May 2020: 79%; June 2020: 81%; July 2020: 82%.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the effectiveness of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We remain committed to delivering the core proposals of the children and young people’s mental health Green Paper, including the introduction of senior leads in mental health and mental health support teams in schools and colleges, as well as the piloting of a four-week waiting time for specialist NHS services.   The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health set a target of at least 35% of children and young people with a diagnosable mental health condition receiving treatment from an NHS-funded community mental health service by 2020/21. We are currently meeting this target with 36.8% of children and young people with such a need accessing treatment in 2019/20.

Endometriosis: Diagnosis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that endometriosis can be detected earlier.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government has not taken any recent steps to ensure that endometriosis can be detected earlier.The Government has recently received the Inquiry Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis, the report raised a number of important issues concerning the treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis which will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work in women’s health.

Mental Health Services: Coronavirus

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to expand mental health services in the event of a second national lockdown.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We recognise the pressures on mental health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures. We have released tailored guidance on the Every Mind Matters website and GOV.UK giving advice and practical steps for people to support their mental health and wellbeing. National Health Service mental health services have remained open for business throughout this time, including delivering support digitally and by phone. For those with severe needs or in crisis, NHS mental health providers have set up 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines. We have also provided over £10 million funding for mental health charities supporting people through the pandemic.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to categorise teaching staff as a priority group for the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to these priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. As the first phase of the programme is rolled out in the UK, additional data will become available on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. This will provide the basis for consideration of vaccination in groups that are at lower risk of mortality from COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government's official advice is on covid-19 vaccination for people who are (a) pregnant and (b) lactating.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. In line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will initially be rolled out to these priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions The JCVI favours a precautionary approach and therefore does not currently advise COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. Those eligible for vaccination who are also breastfeeding should discuss with their clinician.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his definition is of frontline health and social care workers as set out in phase 1 on the Joint Committee on Vaccines prioritisation list.

Nadhim Zahawi: Frontline healthcare staff includes those staff involved in direct patient care, as well as non-clinical staff in secondary or primary care/community healthcare settings. The definition of front line social care workers includes those working in long-stay residential and nursing care homes, or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality,. This definition also includes social care staff directly involved in the care of their patients or clients and others involved directly in delivering social care such that they and vulnerable patients and clients are at increased risk of exposure.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people providing home care for vulnerable people have been prioritised for covid-19 vaccination in the same tranche as care home residents and staff; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that the vaccine should first be given to care home residents and staff, as well as by people over 80 years old and health and social care workers. Included in the definition of ‘social care workers’ as per the Green Book are care home staff, personal assistants to personal budget holders, domiciliary support workers and day centre workers. Also included are those non-clinical ancillary staff in care homes who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in patient care.Social care workers include those working in long-stay residential and nursing care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This is also, social care staff directly involved in the care of their patients or clients and others involved directly in delivering social care such that they and vulnerable patients and clients are at increased risk of exposure.We recognise the vital role unpaid carers play in caring for vulnerable individuals and we will provide further details on their access to the vaccine in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure that people who are housebound receive a covid-19 vaccination.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the need for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be stored below minus 70 degrees celsius, what steps his Department is taking to ensure care home residents and staff are able to access covid-19 vaccines promptly.

Nadhim Zahawi: We have worked to ensure that we have the logistical expertise, transport, and workforce in place to rollout a vaccine at the speed at which it can be manufactured. In line with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the vaccine will initially be rolled out to priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.The JCVI appreciates that operational considerations, such as minimising wastage, may require deviation from the prioritisation order as outlined in the statement, where decisions are taken in consultation with national or local public health advice. We will follow the advice of the JCVI on clinical prioritisation which supports vaccinating those most at risk of death from COVID-19. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine involves some logistical challenges and we are working hard to ensure that it is available to those most at risk.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including unpaid carers in the same priority group as frontline health and social care workers for the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: Social care workers include those working in long-stay residential and nursing care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This also includes social care staff directly involved in the care of their patients or clients, and others involved directly in delivering social care such that they and vulnerable patients and clients are at increased risk of exposure.

Care Homes: Learning Disability

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to prioritise people in care home settings with learning disabilities for covid-19 vaccination; and if he will take steps to ensure that those people are vaccinated with higher priority than priority level six in the context of the covid-19 mortality rate among adults with learning disabilities.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation.As the highest risk of mortality increases with age, the JCVI advise that care home residents, their staff and those over 80 years old should be the first group to receive the vaccine. Adults with Down's syndrome and people with a severe and profound learning disability are also prioritised to receive the vaccine; they are within the fourth and sixth vaccine prioritisation groups respectively.With regards to prioritising vaccines for people in care home settings with learning disabilities higher than in their current group six category, we will continue to review the evidence and advice from the JCVI as it emerges to determine if this is required.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a list of the hospitals that will be prioritised for the first round of covid-19 vaccination.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Health Service began vaccinating patients against covid-19 at hospital hubs on 8 December 2020, at the start of the biggest immunisation programme in history. There are 50 hubs in the first wave and more hospitals will start vaccinating over the coming weeks and months. The 50 hospital hubs in the first wave have been published on the NHS England website at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/12/hospitals-to-start-biggest-ever-nhs-vaccination-programme-this-week/

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) parents and (b) carers of clinically vulnerable children will be prioritised for the covid-19 vaccine.

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to provide covid-19 vaccinations to teachers and other school staff.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to these priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amoungst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. As the first phase of the programme is rolled out in the UK, additional data will become available on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. This data will provide the basis for consideration of vaccination in groups that are at lower risk of mortality from COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy that (a) the elderly and (b) pregnant women will receive the covid-19 vaccine first.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to these priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.The JCVI favours a precautionary approach and does not currently advise COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 116658 on coronavirus: vaccination, where in the UK each of the 58 fridges is located.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 116658 on coronavirus: vaccination, how many fridges are located in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 116658 on coronavirus: vaccination, how many fridges are located in each English region.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 116658 on coronavirus: vaccination, whether the 58 fridges includes the 20 previously announced by the Scottish Government on 10 November 2020.

Nadhim Zahawi: Public Health England (PHE) has secured 58 specialised ultra-low temperature freezers for the storage of potential COVID-19 vaccines which require ultra-low temperature storage. The ultra-low temperature freezers are located in two national storage facilities in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland, in readiness for the commencement of a COVID-19 immunisation programme that will support activity across the United Kingdom. This does not include any ultra-low temperature freezers previously announced by the Scottish Government.At a regional level, the National Health Service has made preparations, including sourcing ultra-low temperature storage to support local delivery.The location of the facilities is not being disclosed publicly in order to maintain the integrity of the sites.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include people with spinal injuries affecting their ability to breathe within the priority group of people eligible to receive an anti-covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who provide advice to the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and which groups within the population to prioritise. The JCVI in their advice has stated that Phase 1 roll out of a vaccine will have the prevention of mortality at the forefront of its objectives, as well as to support the National Health Service and social care system. For the first phase, the JVCI have advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, followed by frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. Included are those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to introduce a form of proof for people who have received a covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: The careful and accurate recording of vaccination status is incredibly important both in terms of ensuring priority cohorts are offered the two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination, and to ensure robust surveillance systems are in place to support patient safety.The National Health Service’s National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) will be used as the national register of COVID-19 vaccinations. At the point that someone receives their COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccinating team will record it and this information will go onto the NIMS system and onto a patient’s general practice record.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to prioritise tier 3 areas in the first covid-19 vaccination rollout.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who provide advice to the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and which groups within the population to prioritise. The Committee – in their interim advice - have advised that for Phase 1, the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 years old and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. The prioritisation could change substantially if the first available vaccines were not considered suitable for, or effective in, older adults.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prepare for the roll out of a potential covid-19 vaccine among (a) social care workers, (b) residents of care homes and (c) people in receipt of in home care; and if he will publish the outcomes of discussions he is having with (i) the care sector, (ii) the NHS and (iii) local authorities on access to covid-19 vaccines for care providers.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to these priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. We have engaged regularly with the care sector, the National Health Service, and local authorities in planning for and rolling out the vaccine.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of access to covid-19 vaccines for (a) people with learning disabilities and (b) autistic people, with particular reference to people living in in-patient settings.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department is having with officials and campaign groups on the prioritisation of people with learning disabilities and autistic people, including those living in in-patient settings, for covid-19 vaccines.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent body of clinical experts, advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation including for the COVID-19 vaccine.The vaccine is initially being rolled out to priority groups considered to be the most at risk and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. The JCVI’s advice is published at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/940396/Priority_groups_for_coronavirus__COVID-19__vaccination_-_advice_from_the_JCVI__2_December_2020.pdfPeople with a learning disability who are clinically extremely vulnerable, including adults with Down's syndrome, and people with a severe and profound learning disability are prioritised to receive the vaccine; and are within fourth and sixth vaccine prioritisation groups respectively. This applies to all care settings, and many younger adults in residential care settings will be eligible for a prioritised vaccine because they fall into one of the clinical risk groups, for example learning disabilities. Given the high risk of exposure in these settings, where a high proportion of the population would be considered eligible, prioritised vaccination of the whole resident population is recommended.Throughout the pandemic officials from the Department have joined regular fortnightly meetings with learning disability and autism stakeholders to discuss the response to the pandemic and its impacts on people with a learning disability and autism.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the general population is required to take up a covid-19 vaccination to ensure the effectiveness of that vaccination programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: It has not yet been determined what proportion of the general population is required to take up a COVID-19 vaccination. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. The JCVI recently published advice to facilitate the development of policy on COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom with the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination. It is estimated that taken together, these groups represent around 99% of preventable mortality from COVID-19. As the first phase of the programme is rolled out in the UK, additional data will become available on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and whether they can prevent infection and onward transmission in the population.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of community pharmacies assisting with the roll-out of covid-19 vaccinations to ensure (a) timeliness and (b) safe access to vaccinations for the clinically extremely vulnerable; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Health Service stands ready to deliver each COVID-19 vaccination programme as soon as the vaccine is authorised for use by the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.The?planning?for?effective models of delivery includes?the consideration of settings?such as community pharmacies to support rollout.The COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Programme is engaging with senior pharmacy sector representatives from the Department, NHS England, and NHS Improvement regarding the community pharmacy sector’s role in the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus: Israel

Miriam Cates: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what collaborative scientific research partnerships are ongoing between the UK and Israel to combat covid-19.

Edward Argar: Funded by the Department, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research. The NIHR has led urgent public health research on COVID-19, targeted at both domestic and global research and development solutions. Outside the United Kingdom, we are funding global health research to tackle COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries, in partnership with UK Research and Innovation, using Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fund high quality applied health research and training. Countries eligible to receive ODA are as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee list of ODA recipients. Israel is not eligible to receive ODA and as such has not been involved in the NIHR’s global health research in this area.

Brain Cancer: Research

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of funding for research into brain cancer.

Edward Argar: Research is crucial in the fight against cancer. We invest £1 billion per year in health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR expenditure on cancer research has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £132 million in 2018/19, the largest investment in a disease area.In 2018 the Government announced £40 million over five years for brain cancer research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. Funding is being invested through the NIHR to support a wide range of research from early translational and experimental medicine research.

Blood Cancer: Research

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of funding for research into blood cancer.

Edward Argar: Research is crucial in the fight against cancer. We invest £1 billion per year in health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR expenditure on cancer research has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £132 million in 2018/19, the largest investment in a disease area.

Coronavirus: Research

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has undertaken to enable the early detection of superspreaders of covid-19.

Edward Argar: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).The NIHR and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have partnered to fund a comprehensive programme of research on COVID-19 to understand, prevent, treat and manage COVID-19. As part of this, there is no specific research commissioned on early detection of super spreaders of COVID-19.The NIHR and UKRI are, however, funding relevant work looking at the transmission and epidemiology of the disease such as the Virus Watch study which is looking at household transmission; and the TraCK study looking at transmission between children, and between children and adults.

Hysteroscopy: Finance

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 2020-21 National Tariff Payment System Annex D: Guidance on best practice tariffs, section 15.2, paragraph 196, whether the 2021-22 National Tariff Payment System will include a higher price for outpatient hysteroscopy procedures than for ordinary and day-case elective admissions.

Edward Argar: NHS England sets day case and outpatient tariffs for a range of procedures where expert clinical consensus is that this may be appropriate. In the case of hysteroscopy procedures there is a single price.NHS England recognises that few hysteroscopy cases are reported as outpatient procedures and that most are reported as day cases or inpatient cases. NHS England has raised this issue with the NHS Digital-led Expert Reference Group that covers this clinical area. Expert Reference Groups are led by clinicians nominated by their Royal Colleges to agree currency design changes and provide their views about whether the prices relativities are correct. The Expert Reference Group for this clinical area advises that the same price is set for all forms of diagnostic hysteroscopy procedures under Healthcare Resource Group codes MA31Z-MA34Z.

Epilepsy: Drugs

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to (a) reinstate the Quality Outcomes Framework for Epilepsy indicator relating to contraception, conception and pregnancy and (b) give women who are taking anti-epileptic drugs access to pre-conceptional counselling through the Pregnancy Prevention Programme.

Jo Churchill: The Quality Outcomes Framework (QoF) indicator which focused upon contraception, conception and pregnancy advice was retired in 2014 due to limitations with measurement.In July 2018, NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) published the ‘Report of the Review of the Quality and Outcomes Framework in England.’ This identified a number of principles for the reform of QoF which NHS E/I are continuing to implement, including a focus upon quality improvement activities in areas where metric development is challenging, and upon an increased personalisation of care. The report is available via the link below:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/report-of-the-review-of-the-quality-and-outcomes-framework-in-england/NHS E/I continue to keep the QoF epilepsy domain under review, and are exploring the potential for new indicators to be developed and implemented.Every pregnant woman taking the anti-epilepsy drug valproate must be enrolled in the statutory Pregnancy Prevention Programme, and every healthcare professional involved in the prescribing and dispensing of valproate (so for example GPs and pharmacists) must ensure women are aware of the serious risks to pregnancy valproate presents.Following advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the available data relating to safety of use of non-valproate epileptic medicines during pregnancy is currently being evaluated. As part of this review, the product information for prescribers and patients will be evaluated to ensure that it is clear and up to date, including the need for preconception counselling, as appropriate. The communications from this review will be made publicly available in order to support informed decision making about the most appropriate choice of antiepileptic treatment in the individual case.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether negotiations have taken place on allowing residents in Northern Ireland to retain access to the European Health Insurance Card after the transition period.

Edward Argar: From January 2021, people protected under the Withdrawal Agreement will continue to be entitled to a United Kingdom-issued European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). For those not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, their EHIC may not be valid from January 2021. For people not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, the future of reciprocal healthcare arrangements between the UK and European Union are subject to negotiations, which are ongoing. The UK is open to arrangements that provide healthcare cover for tourists, short-term business visitors and service providers.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of allocating funding for a National Diabetes Technology fund to ensure equitable patient access to diabetes technology.

Jo Churchill: The NHS has made substantial progress on digital transformation, both in the digitisation of local services and the use of technology to improve outcomes for patients. The £559 million technology funding for NHSX announced in the Spending Review is not disease specific but covers the infrastructure and whole pathways work for all major diseases, including diabetes. This investment will support the National Health Service frontline, help fast track innovation, and deliver a better experience for patients and staff alike.

Health: Disadvantaged

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to coordinate with Cabinet colleagues a cross-Government approach to reducing health inequalities as part of its response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: We remain committed to levelling up health outcomes so everyone can enjoy a long, healthy life whoever they are, wherever they live and whatever their social circumstances.The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP) is already leading work across Government to tackle the disparities highlighted by Public Health England in June. This includes reviewing the effectiveness and impact of current actions, actions to modify existing policy and policy in development to address these disparities. Over the last six months, Ministers have commissioned urgent work across Departments to ensure the response to COVID-19 is fully cognisant of and mitigating, the risk to those groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and its accompanying restrictions.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce waiting times for smear test results.

Jo Churchill: NHS England and NHS Improvement, in collaboration with the pathology networks and cervical screening laboratory providers, have implemented a range of measures to ensure laboratory capacity is in place to deliver human papillomavirus (HPV) testing according to the target turnaround time of 14 days.These measures include laboratory providers recruiting more staff, improvements to booking in of slides to allow more efficient processing and 24 hours a day, seven days a week testing. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to liaise regularly with laboratory providers to ensure that they have capacity to deliver HPV primary screening and that any issues that may impact on turnaround times are identified, addressed and mitigated against.

Respiratory System: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is in place for primary care on the provision of routine care to respiratory patients.

Jo Churchill: The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for 2020/21 has been revised to release capacity within general practice to focus efforts upon the identification and prioritisation of people at risk of poor health and those who experience health inequalities for proactive review including:- Those most vulnerable to harm from COVID-19; evidence suggests that this includes patients from black, Asian and ethnic minority groups and those from the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods nationally;- Those at risk of harm from poorly controlled long-term condition parameters; and- Those with a history of missing annual reviews.

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the availability of the pneumococcal vaccine in (a) Scunthorpe and (b) England.

Jo Churchill: There are two pneumococcal vaccines that are currently recommended for use, pneumococcal polysaccharide 23-valent vaccine (PPV23) and pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate 13-valent vaccine PCV13 (Prevenar 13).We are aware that, due to high demand, supplies of PPV23 are currently out of stock across the country. Further supplies are expected to become available in late January 2021. We are working closely with suppliers and the healthcare system to ensure that patients with the greatest clinical need can access the vaccine. We are continuing to liaise with the supplier to support expedited future deliveries.

Heart Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with bradycardia in the UK  in each of the last last three years, by (a) age and (b) gender.

Jo Churchill: The information is not available in the requested format.

Protective Clothing: Felixstowe Port

Joy Morrissey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to clear the backlog of containers being used to store PPE at the Port of Felixstowe and remove that PPE to warehouse storage and free the containers to be returned to destination to carry further supplies.

Jo Churchill: We have cleared the backlog of containers containing personal protective equipment at Felixstowe and are now managing the expected flow of containers that continue to arrive.Our United Kingdom storage network is comprised of warehousing environments and off-quay container storage facilities combined with rental containers, all of which are being utilised to enable the release of containers back to the shipping lines.

Department for Education

Schools: Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recommending that schools in (a) Havering and (b) other London boroughs with high number of covid-19 cases should move to virtual teaching in order to prevent children and families from potentially having to self-isolate over the Christmas period.

Nick Gibb: Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. The leaders and staff of schools have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open, keep schools safe and provide education. Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission. The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is low and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. Senior clinicians, including the Chief Medical Officers of all four nations, still advise that school is the very best place for children to be.Our approach, including advising schools to consider making Friday 18 December a non teaching day, has been informed by advice from Public Health England and seeks to balance the asks on schools to help in the national effort to limit the spread of the virus with the important need for staff to rest and recharge over the Christmas break.Secondary schools will operate a staggered return in January, while testing is offered to minimise cases and transmission of the virus. Pupils in exam year groups, vulnerable children and children of critical workers will attend in person from the start of term and will be offered the first testing dates, whilst other year groups are educated remotely and return on 11 January.

Educational Institutions: Coronavirus

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help safeguard (a) staff and (b) pupils from rising cases of covid-19 infection in schools and colleges.

Nick Gibb: At each stage of its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to and acted on the latest medical and scientific advice. As the prevalence of COVID-19 across the country and our communities changes, the Government has always been clear that it will not hesitate to take swift and decisive action to control the COVID-19 outbreak and save lives.The Department has worked closely with Public Health England to publish comprehensive guidance based on a ‘system of controls’ which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an inherently safer environment for staff, pupils and students where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. This provides a framework for schools and colleges to put in place proportionate protective measures to manage risk effectively. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.To safeguard the health of the teaching workforce and keep as many staff and pupils in school and college as possible, we will be making rapid-result COVID-19 tests available to schools and colleges in the new year. This will help identify asymptomatic cases, which make up a third of all cases, limiting the spread of the virus. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges/coronavirus-covid-19-asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges.In addition to the asymptomatic testing programme, from 4 January 2021, all secondary schools and colleges will also be able to offer staff and pupils a round of free COVID-19 testing, helping deliver the national priority of keeping as many staff and pupils as possible in school and college and fighting the spread of COVID-19.We continue to provide information to schools and colleges on our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular departmental communications.

Schools: Coronavirus

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for keeping schools open a week before they break up for the Christmas period; and what the basis is for potential Government legal action against schools that wish to resume remote learning for the final week of term.

Nick Gibb: Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. The leaders and staff of schools have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open, keep schools safe and provide education. Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission. The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is low and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. Senior clinicians, including the Chief Medical Officers of all four nations, still advise that school is the very best place for children to be.Our approach, including advising schools to consider making Friday 18 December a non-teaching day, has been informed by advice from Public Health England and seeks to balance the asks on schools to help in the national effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 with the important need for staff need to rest and recharge over the Christmas break.Under Schedule 17 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 the Secretary of State may make a direction to require schools to enable all pupils to attend full time. If a school fails to comply with a direction the Act enables the Secretary of State to seek an injunction from the court in order to enforce the direction.

Remote Education: Coronavirus

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has assessed the effect of remote schooling during the covid-19 outbreak on levels of student learning.

Nick Gibb: The Department is continuing to do everything in its power to ensure that children and young people can continue to attend school and college safely, as this is the best place for them to be for their education, development, and wellbeing. However, we recognise that for some pupils and students, remote education will be an essential component in the delivery of the school curriculum this year, alongside on-site teaching. The Department’s guide to remote education good practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education-good-practice. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 disruption on attainment and progress is a key research priority for the Government, and we have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to consider catch up needs and monitor progress over the course of this academic year. The ongoing research is based on a large sample of pupils from Years 1-11, and will allow the Department to understand how best to support the sector and identify which groups of pupils have been most affected by time out of school – including the most disadvantaged. This research is based on assessments that schools are already choosing to use this year, so adds no additional burden on schools and does not require pupils to sit any additional assessments. The Department has also commissioned a mixed-methods research study that will examine schools’ recovery approaches to lost time in education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Private Education: Scholarships

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure more children from disadvantaged and care backgrounds have access to private school scholarships to support their charitable status.

Nick Gibb: In May 2018, the Department for Education and the Independent Schools Council (ISC) agreed a joint understanding designed to expand the participation of independent schools in various initiatives across the system. In particular, it encourages independent schools to offer a greater number of full bursary places, targeted at children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We continue to work constructively with the ISC on this.The Department is working to increase the involvement of independent schools alongside boarding schools to open up more educational opportunities for children in need. We recently appointed the Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation to deliver a project that will establish hubs in which independent schools, local authorities, social workers and Virtual School Heads, will work in partnership to promote school placements for children in need.The Department continues to encourage and support new partnerships between independent and state funded schools. This programme aims to harness the resources and expertise found across sectors through the development of partnership activities, many of which are specifically tailored for pupils from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. In line with the Department’s joint understanding with the ISC, we want to see more schools forming impactful and mutually beneficial collaborations across the areas of curriculum development, teaching quality, governance and leadership, and other targeted forms of school improvement to maximise the social benefits that can be generated for their communities.

LocatED: Newham

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s property company LocatED’s plans to develop 259 Plaistow Road in Newham, London, how many and what proportion of the homes proposed to be built will be for (a) social rent, (b) 80 per cent of market rent, (c) market rent, (d) shared ownership, (e) leasehold sale and (f) other forms of sale or rent.

Nick Gibb: The Department and LocatED are consulting with the London Borough of Newham and the Local Planning Authority on the delivery of School 21 Plaistow, a secondary free school project. The number of new homes and housing mix is currently under review and will be finalised during the planning determination period.

Free Schools

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the wave 15 announcement from the free schools programme.

Nick Gibb: The free schools programme was established to deliver choice, innovation and higher standards for parents. Free schools have delivered tens of thousands of high quality school places across the country. We will announce the outcome of wave 14 soon, to enable successful applications to begin work towards opening these much needed schools. Funding for further free school approvals will be considered at the next Spending Review.

Foster Care

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the number of people (a) expressing an interest in foster parenting and (b) completing the foster parent application process in the last five years.

Vicky Ford: The Department for Education does not collect this data. This data is currently captured by Ofsted.Ofsted have seen an increase in enquires to independent fostering agencies (IFA) between the financial year 2015-2019, but in the same period enquiries have decreased for local authorities. At the end of March 2020, we have seen an increase in applications compared to 2015. However, application rates have remained fairly static over the past 2 years.Ofsted estimate that there were around 137,200 initial enquiries from prospective fostering households in the year ending 31 March 2020. This was an increase of around 7% compared to the financial year 2018 to 2019. The reported figure of 135,075, from the data provided by 94% of all eligible agencies, was itself an increase on the previous year (127,850).Ofsted estimate that around 76% enquiries received were within the IFA sector, up from 72% in 2018 to 2019. This results from a 14% increase in enquiries to the IFA sector, and a 10% decrease for local authorities, compared with last year.A breakdown of enquiries received over the past 5 years are as follows:YearTotal number of enquiries received2015/16101,7952016/17114,4252017/18117,3352018/19127,8502019/20135,080In relation to applications approved, across the sectors, the conversion rate of applications received to applications approved was very similar. Around 1 in 4 applications were approved in both sectors. However, IFAs accounted for both more applications and approvals than local authorities.A breakdown of applications received and approved by local authorities are as follows:YearTotal number of applications receivedTotal number of applications approved2015/164,5251,1502016/174,9401,1402017/184,7109852018/194,3901,0202019/203,570905A breakdown of applications received and approved by IFAs are as follows:YearTotal number of applications receivedTotal number of applications approved2015/164,0601,1402016/174,4051,2602017/185,8301,4552018/195,3501,3952019/205,2351,230Among local authorities, 43% of completed applications were approved, while 35% were approved among IFAs. The difference is mostly accounted for by a higher proportion of withdrawals by applicants among IFAs (49% compared to 36% for local authorities).

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Coronavirus

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prison staff and (b) prisoners who have contracted covid-19 during the outbreak have since been identified as having long covid.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) prison staff and (b) prisoners who have contracted covid-19 during the outbreak are receiving follow-up healthcare checks to monitor for and respond to the symptoms of long covid.

Lucy Frazer: Ensuring the safety, health and wellbeing of staff and prisoners in England and Wales remains a top priority and a wide number of steps have been taken together with public health experts to protect everyone in prison during the current pandemic.HMPPS do not hold information on the number of staff or prisoners identified as having ‘long covid’. Prisoners remain NHS patients and are able to access equitable healthcare to the general population, including in the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms. HMPPS do not have access to individual medical records which remain medically in confidence.Staff are also NHS patients and access healthcare services in the same way as the general population, including for the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms. HMPPS do not have access to staff medical records which remain medically in confidence. However, public sector prison staff who have experienced any form of sickness absence can be referred to HMPPS’ Occupational Health provider for assessment and to access additional support. This may include recommendations for workplace adjustments and a phased return to work programme to support the employee in their safe return to work and following their return.

Prisons: Disclosure of Information

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106980 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, what response his Department has received from HMPPS trade unions to the drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents.

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106980 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, whether the drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents include provisions for prison staff to have access to a single whistleblowing telephone hotline through which to raise health and safety concerns.

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2020 to Question 99603 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, when he expects to launch the new whistleblowing policy; and whether he plans to include in that policy provisions for prison staff to have access to a single whistleblowing telephone hotline through which to raise health and safety concerns.

Lucy Frazer: Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison and the response was largely positive with trade unions supportive of the new policy and supporting guidance documents. The new Raising a Concern policy and supporting guidance documents include provision for staff in prisons to access the Integrity Hotline which allows staff to raise any concerns they may have about the workplace or their own wellbeing. HMPPS has effective and reliable systems for reporting and recording adverse security, and health and safety incidents. This allows staff to voice any concerns, and for health and safety teams to monitor and act where necessary. Trade union consultation has now been completed and the new policy is now going through the separate Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service policy governance processes. Once these processes are complete the policy will be published, which is expected to be in January 2021.

Sentencing

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps taking to include Desecration of War Memorials Bill provisions in the Sentencing Green Paper.

Chris Philp: Any vandalism or attack on property should be met with the full force of the law. Attacking any memorial is an insult, and this is particularly true of a war memorial commemorating those who have given their lives fighting for our freedom.The Government has stated in the Sentencing White Paper, A Smarter Approach to Sentencing, that it is currently reviewing the law in this area to ensure that where memorials are damaged or desecrated, the courts are able to sentence appropriately at every level for this particular type of offending.

Special Educational Needs: Appeals

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many parents have taken local education authorities (LEAs) to appeal at a tribunal against an Education, Care and Health Plan decision in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those appeals were determined in favour of the (a) parents and (b) LEA.

Chris Philp: The number of appeals brought against EHCP decisions (including the refusal to assess a child or young person; the refusal to issue an EHCP after an assessment; and the content of the EHCP) in the LEAs of (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire; and the proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the (a) parents and (b) LEA is shown in the table below. For context, the number of appeals withdrawn or conceded before, and those still awaiting, hearing is also included. Local Authority/yearAppeals received on grounds of refusal to assess, issue an EHCP and the content of the planFound in favour1 of the parents or young person at hearing Found in favour of the LEA at hearingWithdrawnLEA Conceded prior to the hearingAwaiting hearing Stoke on Trent   2015-1671 (50%)1 (50%)230 2016-17154 (56%)3 (43%)440 2017-18144 (100%)0730 2018-19206 (100%)02120 2019-20268 (100%)01116 Staffordshire   2015-167612 (100%)030340 2016-1710628 (74%)10 (26%)26420 2017-189735 (67%)16 (33%)20260 2018-198135 (83%)7 (17%)15231 2019-2011158 (95%)3 (5%)161420 ¹ Appeals found in favour of the parent or young person are those in which the appellant was successful in all or part of the appeal The data are extracted from GAPS2- the Tribunal’s case management system The years referred to above are school years from 1 September to 31 August the following year.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Buildings

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, how much his Department (a) budgeted for and (b) has spent on maintenance of (i) National Probation Service buildings and (ii) Approved Premises in financial year 2020-21 to date.

Lucy Frazer: This financial year (2020/21) we are forecasting to spend in excess of £63m on the Probation Estate which will allow us to progress critical maintenance works relating to fire safety and security; and progress vital repair works including lifts, showers and also redecoration. We have secured an additional £10m this financial year to invest in Approved Premises. This investment, alongside our probation reform programme will lead to an improved standard of accommodation for Probation staff and users. The available information is as follows: Probation offices and approved premises Budget 2020/21Spend to dateForecast 2020/21Maintenance projects (CDEL)£17.4m£1.7m£15.0mMaintenance projects (RDEL)£5.0m£3.9m£7.6mFacilities management (Fixed and variable works) (RDEL)£33.4m£29.0m£40.9m Notes: Spend to date is 1 April 2020 to 30 November 2020. The information has been extracted from financial systems and reflects services which have been invoiced and paid to 30 November.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Buildings

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, how much his Department plans to spend on maintenance of (a) National Probation Service buildings and (b) Approved Premises in 2021-22.

Lucy Frazer: We have a programme of investment to improve our probation estate. Following the Spending Review announcement on 25 November work to finalise budgets for next financial year is ongoing.

Probation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, what plans he has to increase the proportion of facilities management jobs that are completed within the 10-day target.

Lucy Frazer: We have a programme of investment to improve our probation estate. We have secured an additional £10m this financial year to invest in Approved Premises. This investment alongside our probation reform programme will lead to an improved standard of accommodation for Probation staff.As part of our facilities management service delivery we prioritise statutory and planned preventative maintenance which is necessary for health and safety and fire safety to ensure that our workplaces remain safe for our staff and building users. We continue to work with our facilities management providers to improve the proportion of routine and less urgent facilities management jobs within the 10-day target.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 81888 on Courts: Video Conferencing, whether his Department holds data on the number of Cloud Video Platform hearings that are completed per hour in (a) magistrates courts, (b) County courts and (c) across the network of tribunals.

Chris Philp: HMCTS does not hold data on the number of hearings completed per hour or the duration of hearings. We continue to carefully monitor and evaluate the use of video and technology in courts, so that we can improve services and support access to justice. The decision to deal with a hearing or part of a hearing remotely is a matter for the judiciary and the length of hearings vary significantly whether in person or remote.We are listening to feedback from all court users including the judiciary, legal professionals, staff and other key stakeholders to understand the impact of the technology during Covid and findings of that evaluation will be available in Spring 2021.

Probation: Vacancies

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, what plans he has to reduce probation officer vacancy rates in (a) London, (b) the South East and (c) the East of England.

Lucy Frazer: The National Probation Service (NPS) is committed to increasing recruitment to fill Probation Officer vacancies, particularly in areas with significant local employment market challenges.We have committed to recruiting 1,000 trainee Probation Officers in 2020/21 and we are developing a three-year strategy to address recruitment issues and improve retention in probation.There has already been an increase of 5.7% in Probation Officer numbers between September 2019 and September 2020, and we expect this to increase further as we continue to significantly uplift recruitment.We are focussing on regions with high operational vacancies to target local recruitment advertising, raise the profile of the important work probation officers carry out, and enhance our wellbeing offer to staff.We recognise that pay and reward is also key as part of the overall package for staff and attracting prospective staff. The 2020/21 Pay Award proposal for the NPS will improve entry level pay for staff in all Pay Bands across the NPS, making the service more competitive with other workforces. The NPS is also working collaboratively with Trade Unions to continue pay modernisation over the coming years to ensure that our pay structure is coherent, sustainable and rewarding of our staff.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Staff

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff by (a) court and (b) pay band are employed by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.

Chris Philp: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Pay

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff at Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service earn below £24,000 per annum.

Chris Philp: As at 31 October 2020, the proportion of HMCTS staff, whose full-time equivalent salary is presently below £24,000, is 71.2% equating to 11,542 people.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Labour Turnover

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the attrition rate of staff at Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has been in each of the last five years.

Chris Philp: 12 months toNov 2016Nov 2017Nov 2018Nov 2019Nov 2020Attrition rate9.2%9.9%10.2%11.7%10.6% The methodology used to calculate the attrition rate is: (Total annual leavers [12 months]/Average annual headcount [12 months])*100The % are calculated using permanent and FTC staff headcount figures for on strength staff only.

Magistrates: Recruitment

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of magistrates in (a) Wakefield constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.

Alex Chalk: Working with the magistracy through the Magistrates’ Recruitment and Attraction Steering Group, we are investing in a broad programme of work to recruit more, and more diverse, magistrates across England and Wales. We have also reviewed our planned future recruitment to make sure this is in line with the demands on the magistracy, particularly in managing our recovery in response to the pandemic.Recommendations for the appointment of magistrates are made to the Lord Chief Justice by independent advisory committees. The North and West Yorkshire Recruitment Advisory Committee, which includes the Wakefield constituency, has received 78 applications to date in 2020.

Domestic Abuse

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, if he will publish an action plan in response to the finding that checks with the local police domestic abuse team at the point of initial assessment are not being done in over a third of cases.

Alex Chalk: As with previous years there are no plans for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to publish an action plan in response to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s (HMIP) latest Annual Report, given no specific recommendations are made like they are in Inspection Reports. However, Contract Management Teams continue to work closely with Community Rehabilitation Companies to ensure that any areas of improvement that have been identified by HMIP form part of an agreed internal action plan, which is monitored closely as part of contract management processes. Similarly, HM Prison and Probation Service continue to monitor National Probation Service Divisions’ progress against suggested areas of improvement or recommendations provided by HMIP.

Magistrates: Retirement

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) age and (b) ethnic diversity of the magistracy of raising the compulsory age of retirement for magistrates.

Alex Chalk: The Impact Assessment and Equality Statement, published as part of our Judicial Mandatory Retirement Age consultation, outlined our assessment of the potential effects of our proposals to raise the mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders, including magistrates. Our analysis suggests that raising the mandatory retirement age could help to retain valuable judicial resource and expertise but that there could be a small impact on the diversity growth of the magistracy. We anticipate that any adverse impact will be offset by our ongoing work to recruit more diverse magistrates.

Magistrates: Ethnic Groups

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of members of the working groups which have shaped the new policy on magistrate recruitment are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of applicants to the magistracy were from Black, Asian or minority ethnic communities in each of the last five years; and what comparative assessment he has made of the the success rates of those applicants and other applicants in being appointed to the magistracy in the last five years.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of leadership magistrates are from BAME communities; and what steps have been taken to encourage magistrates from BAME communities to apply for those positions.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are taken to ascertain the socio-economic background of new magistrates; and if he will publish the data on that measure.

Alex Chalk: Members of the Recruitment and Attraction Steering Group (who are involved in the working groups) are magistrates and lay members of Advisory Committees in each region who were appointed following an Expression of Interest exercise. Diversity data for the Steering Group Members is not separately collated. Other working group members are comprised of officials from MoJ, HMCTS and Judicial Office and we do not separately collate their diversity data for this specific role.The Judicial Office collate the diversity data of magistrates. Currently, diversity data of applicants to the magistracy is not collated as it is not mandatory for prospective applicants to provide this information. The Magistrates Recruitment and Attraction programme is developing a new recruitment system that will capture diversity data of applicants throughout the application process. The diversity data of appointed magistrates are published in the Judicial Diversity Statistics.Leadership roles within the magistracy, including those within the Magistrates’ Leadership Executive, are undertaken by appointed magistrates. Leadership roles are openly advertised to all magistrates and filled through either an Expression of Interest exercise or following local selection processes. Diversity data of those who hold leadership roles is not separately collated.The Judicial Office does not collate socio-economic data of new magistrates. The Judicial Diversity Statistics sets out data on magistrates’ ethnicity, age and gender. By March 2021, the aim is for all Judicial office holders to be encouraged to self-classify against a wider range of diversity characteristics including a means of defining a socio-economic background.The Judicial Diversity Statistics are published annually and are available through this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2020-statistics

Judiciary: Recruitment

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was in 2019-20 of the (a) recruitment of and (b) induction and initial training for (i) full-time district judges, (ii) deputy district judges and (iii) lay magistrates and each (A) full-time district judge, (B) deputy district judge and (C) lay magistrate.

Alex Chalk: Recruitment of judges in England and Wales is undertaken by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). The JAC completed 35 recruitment exercises and made 979 recommendations in 2019/20, including 47 district judges, 151 deputy district judges and 17 district judges (magistrates’ court). The costs allocated to each exercise were £44,000 for district judges, £454,000 for deputy district judges and £60,000 for district judges (magistrates’ courts). Due to the different costs incurred for different exercises, judge level recruitment costs are not reported.The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for judicial training, exercised through the Judicial College. As district judges are required to have previous judicial experience, induction training is tailored to meet the specific needs of each judge based on their previous sitting experience. Of the appointments made in 2019/20, three district judges were required to attend training at a total cost of £10,000. The cost of induction training for deputy district judges was £1.2m plus £873,000 in sitting in days. These are observation days at a hearing before and after training that must be completed by fee paid judges before presiding over a hearing. Induction training was also provided to 30 newly appointed deputy district judges (magistrates’ courts) at a total cost of £81,000. The Judicial College does not calculate the cost per judge of induction training.In 2019-2020 1,033 magistrates were appointed. HMCTS are responsible for the recruitment and the delivery of training to magistrates and do not collate the costs of magistrate recruitment or training.

Treasury

Revenue and Customs

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the directorates within HMRC.

Jesse Norman: A copy of the HMRC Organisational Structure as at 30 November 2020 is provided in the attached PDF.HMRC Directorates PDF (pdf, 29.7KB)

Revenue and Customs: Internet

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library copies of the data protection impact assessment on the webchat facilities available on HMRC's website.

Jesse Norman: HMRC do not usually publish Data Protection Impact Assessments, as there is no legal requirement to do so.

Revenue and Customs: Vacancies

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many days have (a) posts, (b) director-level posts and (c) director-general-level posts been vacant in HMRC in each month of each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The information requested concerning the number of posts vacant in HMRC in each month of the last five years cannot be provided, as this data is not available.

Revenue and Customs: Racial Discrimination

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints there have been of racist behaviour in the workplace in HMRC in each of the last five years, by directorate.

Jesse Norman: Since 2016 there have been 38 complaints categorised under race, detailed below. YearFormal Complaints recorded under race category2016520176201862019112020 (to date)10 Release of these figures by directorate would breach HMRC’s statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation, as it could lead to identification of the individuals concerned. The figures provided are for formal complaints recorded under the ‘race’ category. It is possible that other complaints may have included a racial element, but if that was not deemed the primary reason for the complaint it could have been recorded under a different category.

Minimum Wage: Non-payment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have been investigated by HMRC for potential infractions of the National Minimum Wage, in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have been taken to court by HMRC for potential infractions of the National Minimum Wage, in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have fined following court proceedings brought by HMRC in relation to non-payment of the national minimum wage in each of the last ten years; and what the sum total was of those fines in each of the last ten years.

Jesse Norman: HMRC enforce the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). A majority of NMW cases are subject to civil (non-criminal) sanctions, which include penalties of up to 200% of the arrears, and public naming and, for the worst offences, criminal prosecution. Prosecution does not guarantee payment of arrears to workers, can be lengthy, is expensive for the taxpayer, and is generally reserved for the most serious cases that form part of a pattern of wider criminality. Cases are referred to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether or not to prosecute. HMRC have a strong enforcement record on NMW and since 2010-11?have completed nearly 25,000 NMW investigations, identifying over £100 million in national minimum wage arrears for over 950,000 workers and levying more than £59 million in penalties. The table below provides figures for businesses that HMRC have investigated, prosecuted and the amount of fine imposed following a prosecution, totalling £27,423 for breaches of National Minimum Wage legislation since 2010. YearNumber of businesses investigatedNumber of prosecutionsFines for prosecuted employers2010 - 201129011£3,6962011 - 201225340£02012 – 201316961£1,0002013 – 201414550£02014 – 201522040£02015 – 201626670£02016 – 201726744£19,5002017 – 201824021£2,9772018 – 201930180£02019 - 202033761£250

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library the (a) total headcount and (b) full-time equivalent staffing of each directorate of HMRC.

Jesse Norman: The table below details the headcount and full-time equivalent staffing in HMRC directorates on 30 November 2020:   HMRC staff in post per Directorate as at 30 Nov 2020DirectorateHeadcount (a)FTE (b) Adjudicators Office5854.24 Benefits & Credits Delivery41703499.67 Border Delivery Group32.9 Borders & Trade1211.17 Borders Design to Delivery248243.65 Borders Strategies4443.72 Business Tax & Customs47354312.07 Business, Assets & International Policy467437.61 CCG Central Services851833.28 CCG Transformation3735.86 CDIO - Core27952677.99 CDIO - CSIR235222.59 CFO Corporate Support8884.17 CFO Transformation Programmes138130.1 Change, Assurance and Investment3229.82 Commercial Directorate137130.41 Corporate Centre4039.48 Corporate Finance13441132.11 Counter Avoidance Directorate15121389.04 COVID-198178.53 CS Director General2119.85 CS&TD Business Architecture1716.73 CSG Transformation270255.57 Cust Exp, Professionalism, EU Transition279265.61 Customer Insight & Design475444.9 Customs & Borders Directorate597562.78 Customs Transformation295286.23 Debt Management47224218.44 Estates606578.91 EU Transition Unit8987.39 EXCOM3924.81 Finance Planning & Performance304285.11 Fraud Investigation Service49914721.36 Government Banking Service3432.82 HMRC Change Portfolio8278.83 HMRC Communications262252.86 HMRC Strategies6967.39 HR16061488.51 Indirect Tax Directorate299283.83 Individuals & Small Business Compliance90568484.68 Individuals Policy306292.8 Internal Audit6865.02 Investment Planning Team4240.39 Knowledge, Analysis & Intelligence547524.44 Large Business Service23282187.96 MTDB Transformation Programmes227222.31 Off Payroll Working Programme5249.9 Operational Excellence & Output Mgmt12191094.5 PDC Customer Strategy & Tax Design161149.71 PT Operations85517182.51 Risk & Intelligence30632851.52 Solicitors Office13811295.96 Surge & ODP544542.5 Tax Administration340320.36 Tax Strategy & Professionalism8280.39 Total Organisational Capabilities1312.3 Trader Support Service (TSS)1413.35 Wealthy & Mid-sized Business Compliance40243695.94 Other *8  Grand Total6411058466.88  * There are eight people unassigned to a directorate as they are either non-Executive directors, or employees whose identity is withheld for security reasons.

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what dates the HMRC Audit and Risk Committee has met since April 2020 24 July 2019; and whether at those meetings the Committee (a) considered the organisational risks of HMRC's level of staffing, (b) recommended an increase in staffing and (c) recommended a reduction in staffing.

Jesse Norman: HMRC’s Audit and Risk Committee provides assurance to the Board and the Principal Accounting Officer on the integrity of the financial statements and the comprehensiveness and reliability of assurances across HMRC on governance, risk management and the control environment. Since 1 April 2020, the Audit and Risk Committee has met on:7 April 202021 May 202023 June 202023 July 20206 October 20203 November 20201 December 2020 The Committee routinely considers the Department’s corporate level risks. The Committee did not recommend an increase or a reduction in staffing.

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what dates the HMRC Resources and Performance Committee has met since April 2020; and whether at those meetings the Committee (a) considered the adequacy of HMRC's level of staffing, (b) recommended an increase in staffing and (c) recommended a reduction in staffing.

Jesse Norman: HMRC’s Resources and Performance Committee met on the following dates: 20 April 202018 May 202015 June 202020 July 202017 August 202021 September 202019 October 202016 November 2020 The Resources and Performance Committee receives updates on HMRC’s workforce position and considers resourcing on a monthly basis to help inform ExCom. The Committee did not recommend an increase or reduction in HMRC staffing.

Revenue and Customs: Recruitment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) staff, (b) director-level staff and (c) director-general-level staff have taken up a post in HMRC in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The HMRC HR system does not identify the information requested by Director, or Director General grade, although HMRC can extract the information for all Senior Civil Service (SCS). Over the last five years, 38,681 staff have taken up post, 156 of whom are members of the SCS. Entrants DataGrades below SCSSCS GradeTotalApril 2015 - March 2016833648340April 2016 - March 20178720268746April 2017 - March 20184367404407April 2018 - March 20196023326055April 2019 - March 20205897355932April 2020 - November 20205182195201Totals3852515638681

Revenue and Customs: Termination of Employment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) staff, (b) director-level staff and (c) director-general-level staff have left a post in HMRC in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The HMRC HR system does not identify the information requested by Director, or Director General grade, although HMRC can extract the information for all Senior Civil Service (SCS). Over the last five years, 27,175 staff have left HMRC, 181 of whom were members of the SCS.   Leavers DataGrades below SCSSCS GradesTotalApril 2015 - March 2016141821420April 2016 - March 2017205692065April 2017 - March 20185982276009April 2018 - March 20197097547151April 2019 - March 20206511456556April 2020 - November 20203930443974Total26,99418127,175

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to alleviate the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people as a result of the Syrian Civil War.

James Cleverly: The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria Crisis. We have committed over £3.3 billion to the regional response since 2012, our largest ever to a single humanitarian crisis. This includes a commitment of at least £300 million for 2020 at the Brussels IV pledging conference.Our aid is distributed through UN agencies and International NGO partners; it provides life-saving support to millions of Syrians, supports refugees to remain in countries in the region, and enables their host communities to accommodate them. Since 2012, across Syria and the region, we have provided over 28 million food rations, over 19 million medical consultations, and over 13 million vaccines.

Saudi Arabia: Detainees

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia on the alleged inhumane treatment of African and other migrants in Saudi Arabian detention centres.

James Cleverly: We are concerned by reports of conditions in migrant detention centres. I raised our concerns on migrant detention centres with the Saudi Ambassador to the UK on 16 November. We are monitoring the situation closely, as we always do on human rights issues.

Morocco: Western Sahara

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the Government of Morocco to secure peace in Western Sahara.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will propose a motion to the United Nations Security Council requesting the United Nations Secretary-General appoint a Personal Envoy to Western Sahara.

James Cleverly: We are closely monitoring the situation in Western Sahara and are in regular contact with the parties, including the Government of Morocco. We are also in close contact with the UN, both in New York and in the region. We continue to urge the parties to avoid further escalation, return to the ceasefire agreement, and re-engage with the UN-led political process. We strongly support the UN Secretary General's efforts to appoint a Personal Envoy as soon as possible.

Morocco: Western Sahara

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the mechanisms in the UK-Morocco association agreement to support a peaceful solution to the Western Sahara conflict.

James Cleverly: The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We have regular exchanges with the parties to the Western Sahara dispute, including Morocco. Association Agreements, including the UK-Morocco Association Agreement, include provisions for political dialogue.

Palestinians: Curriculum

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2020 to Question 92026 on Palestinians: Schools, whether the final EU report on the previous Palestinian Authority curriculum will be published by the end of 2020; and if he will make a statement.

James Cleverly: The independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks, led by our European partners, is currently underway. We have regular discussions with European partners on the review, including on plans for publication. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.To ensure that the final report is representative, the study has been extended to include a sample of textbooks introduced for school year 2020-21. Consequently, the study will now be completed in early 2021.

Palestinians: Radicalism

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Norwegian counterpart on that Government's decision to withhold funding from the Palestinian Authority in response that Authority using material inciting hatred and violence against Israel in its curriculum.

James Cleverly: I have not discussed the issue with my Norwegian counterpart. We understand that the approval of Norway's Fiscal Budget is subject to negotiations in Parliament and that such negotiations may result in shifts between budget lines and geographic priorities in the development aid budget. We understand that the Norwegian Parliament has proposed to reduce Norway's development assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories by 30 million Norwegian Krone (approximately £2.5 million) in 2021, along with changes in priorities on other budget lines and allocations.

Palestinians: Curriculum

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his EU counterpart on the EU review into the Palestinian Authority curriculum; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the delays in the publication of that review.

James Cleverly: The independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks, led by our European partners, is currently underway. We have regular discussions with European partners on the review, including on plans for publication. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.To ensure that the final report is representative, the study has been extended to include a sample of textbooks introduced for school year 2020-21. Consequently, the study will now be completed in early 2021.

Western Sahara: Sovereignty

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) US, (b) Moroccan, (c) Mauritanian and (d) Algerian counterpart on the disputed sovereignty of Western Sahara.

James Cleverly: We are closely monitoring the situation in Western Sahara. We are in close contact with a range of interlocutors, including the parties to the dispute and fellow members of the UN Security Council. We continue to urge the parties to avoid further escalation, return to the ceasefire agreement, and re-engage with the UN-led political process.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food Supply: Supermarkets

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) discussions his Department has had and (b) preparations have been made with supermarkets on food shortages in the event of the transition period ending without a trade deal.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and the food industry is well-equipped to respond to disruption as was seen during the initial Covid-19 response earlier this year. Defra has well established ways of working with the food industry on preparedness for and response to potential food supply chain disruptions. Defra Ministers and officials meet regularly with the food industry, including the retailers, to support contingency planning by the industry. Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned from, and the range of interventions deployed during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for planning on food supply at the end of the transition period. The Government made a new temporary relaxation of UK competition law for groceries-chain suppliers on 17 December 2020 - the Competition Act 1998 (Groceries) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020. This relaxation will help grocery retailers and their suppliers to collaborate effectively to prepare for, and if required, respond to potential disruption.

Food Supply

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the equity of the distribution of additional costs in the UK food supply chain in the event of no deal on UK-EU trade relations at the end of the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and the food industry is well-equipped to respond to disruption as was seen during the initial Covid-19 response earlier this year. Defra Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Agri-food industry to support contingency planning by the industry. This includes working closely with those sectors who may be particularly affected by concurrent impacts of end transition disruption and Covid-19 impacts. There are a number of factors which can affect consumer food prices, including agri-food import prices, domestic manufacturing costs and currency exchange rates. Many of these factors will continue to apply at the end of the transition period whatever the outcome of trade negotiations with the EU. Most food industry sectors are accustomed to fluctuations in supply chain costs, and this does not necessarily translate into consumer price rises.

Food: Prices

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the price of (a) meat, (b) dairy products, (c) eggs, (d) cereals and (e) fruit and vegetables of the UK reaching the end of the transition period without a deal on its future relationship with the EU.

Victoria Prentis: The Government has been clear that it seeks a free trade agreement with the EU, based on friendly cooperation and maintaining tariff and quota free access. The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. We have carried out extensive planning with industry and the Devolved Administrations to prepare for the end of the year, and we are committed to ensuring the continued supply of agri-food goods across the UK. We are equally committed to minimising disruption to movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. There are a number of factors which can affect consumer food prices, including agri-food import prices, domestic manufacturing costs and currency exchange rates. Many of these factors will continue to apply at the end of the transition period whatever the outcome of trade negotiations with the EU. Most food sectors are accustomed to fluctuations in supply chain costs, and this does not necessarily translate into consumer price rises. We will of course continue to monitor market prices of agricultural commodities including meat, dairy products, eggs, cereals and fruit and vegetables.

Sugar Beet: Neonicotinoids

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the National Farmers Union on the use of Cruiser SB neonicotinoid dressed seed on sugar beet in the UK in spring 2021.

Victoria Prentis: Defra meets regularly with the National Farmers Union, as we do with other major stakeholders. These meetings cover topics of current interest including, on occasion, issues faced by sugar beet growers. This is separate from the documented regulatory process of assessment and decision-making, led by the Health and Safety Executive, for the application for an emergency authorisation for the use of Cruiser SB.

Agriculture: Import Duties

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the British farming sector of the implementation of tariffs on (a) fertilisers, (b) pharmaceutical goods and (c) other agricultural inputs in the event of no deal on UK-EU trade relations.

Victoria Prentis: The UK Government has always been clear that we seek a Free Trade Agreement with the EU similar to the one that they have with Canada. At the end of 2020 the UK will transition to Most Favoured Nation terms with all those nations that it does not have a free trade agreement with. The Government will publish more detail of the economic analysis in the Tax Information and Impact Note in due course, as is standard practice to support tax policy decisions.

Plants: UK Trade with EU

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish details of the charge for inspections in respect of EU imported plants after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: Inspection fees for imports of regulated plants and plant products from the EU will not apply until 1 April 2021 in England and Wales. This will give businesses time to adjust to the new fee arrangements and factor it into financial planning for next year. A full list of regulated plants and plant products can be found on GOV.UK.The fees for import checks on such goods from the EU will be proportionate to the frequency of checks applicable to each commodity. These fees have been published on the Plant Health Portal and have been communicated to stakeholders directly.

Sugar Beet: Neonicotinoids

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental effect of Cruiser SB neonicotinoid dressed seed on sugar beet in the UK in spring 2021; what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) bees, (b) birds and mammals and (c) aquatic organisms of that neonicotinoid; and whether he asked for the advice of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides on the use of that neonicotinoid.

Victoria Prentis: Article 53 of Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 allows countries, under certain circumstances, to consider authorising the use of a plant protection product for a period not exceeding 120 days, for a limited and controlled use where such a measure is necessary because of a danger which cannot be contained by any other means. An application has recently been made under this legislation for an emergency authorisation for Cruiser SB as a seed treatment for use on sugar beet. As is normal for emergency authorisation applications, a full assessment, including an assessment of environmental risks, has been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and advice has been sought from the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. A decision will be taken by Ministers shortly.

Sheep: Import Duties

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK sheep farming industry of the implementation of tariffs on sheep meat in the event of the UK reaching the end of the transition period without a deal on its future relationship with the EU; and what steps his Department plans to take to support the sheep farming industry in that scenario.

Victoria Prentis: The Government has been clear that it seeks a free trade agreement with the EU, based on friendly cooperation and maintaining tariff and quota free access. As any responsible Government would, we have plans in place to minimise disruption for the farming sector if a deal is not reached with the EU. We have been reviewing and updating the analysis we undertook as part of our no deal preparations in 2019 and Defra is looking at specific interventions which will help to mitigate impacts for sheep farmers. No decisions have been taken on any sector specific interventions, including the sheep sector, post the end of the transition period as any possible intervention must be dictated by the actual market situation at the time. Producer price impacts would also affect EU producers in a non-negotiated outcome scenario. For example, the EU is heavily reliant on the UK as an export market for Danish pork and bacon. In 2018, the UK purchased 81% of Denmark’s total exports of bacon and ham. This trade was worth £100 million to Denmark.

Food Supply

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has been made of the potential effect on the UK's food and drink industry of the UK and the EU failing to agree a deal on the future relationship before the end of the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: We believe it is still possible to reach an agreement with the EU and that this can be done quickly. However, if this cannot be achieved, we are prepared for the effects of a non-negotiated outcome. The food supply chain has demonstrated its resilience, responding to unprecedented challenges over the last year. The Government is confident that it will continue to be resilient after 31 December.The economic impacts of no Free Trade Agreement with the EU have been much debated in the last four years and there are many economic studies on this issue. The Prime Minister has been clear that we will embrace our new future and prosper as an independent free trading nation, controlling our own borders, and setting our own laws.From January, we will be able to design our own rules in ways that best support UK businesses to recover from the pandemic. We can benefit from new free trade deals, and open up new markets with other like-minded trading partners. We’ll also be able to target our support in the UK to where it is needed most, to level up our economy.Defra continues to engage productively with food and drink businesses from across the industry as they prepare for the end of the transition period. As part of this, Defra regularly holds numerous forums and bilateral meetings with trade associations, manufacturers, processors, wholesalers and retailers and SMEs.We continue to work with the industry to understand their readiness and to address concerns. In this, we have provided tailored guidance and support outlining what action businesses should consider taking regardless of the outcome of negotiations. Guidance continues to be updated and shared through the GOV.UK website and digital resources. Defra also works across Government to support businesses through initiatives such as the Trader Support Service, industry days and webinars.

Safari Club International: Animal Products

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has received information on the decision by Facebook and Twitter to ban social media platforms financed by Safari Club International on the grounds that they were seeking to influence the outcome of his Department’s consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies; whether he plans to take steps to ensure that that consultation process has not been compromised; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: My department is aware of the action taken by some social media platforms relating to the spread of misinformation in respect to trophy hunting. Trophy hunting is a topic that provokes strong views, reflected by the fact we received a large number of responses from members of the public and stakeholders. Our consultation and call for evidence process is robust and Defra follows best practice guidelines. We have considered all views expressed and evidence submitted in response to the consultation and call for evidence and we have no reason to suspect the process has been compromised. We will respond to the consultation and outline the next steps as soon as possible.

Ports: Kingston upon Hull

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to employ veterinary surgeons at each of the Border Control Points under the Hull and Goole Port Health Authority.

Victoria Prentis: Sanitary and phytosanitary controls on animals and animal products imported into Great Britain from the EU are being introduced in stages. From April, Port Health Authorities will be required to carry out remote documentary checks on products of animal origin, with physical and identity checks on animal products being carried out at Border Control Posts from 1 July 2021. Defra has provided £14 million funding to local authorities in England to support Port Health Authorities with the recruitment and training of over 500 new staff, including Official Veterinarians. This includes £537,659 which has been awarded to Kingston Upon Hull City Council. Defra is also working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, which will be responsible for carrying out checks on live animals, to ensure the recruitment and training of the additional staff required is completed for each stage of the new import regime.

Plants: Imports

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of inspectors required to inspect EU imported plants after the end of the transition period; and how many inspectors are employed and fully-trained to carry out such inspections as at 14 December 2020.

Victoria Prentis: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has undertaken significant recruitment to increase the number of plant health inspectors in order to service the demand for import and export checks and certification in England and Wales, where the majority of inspectors will be required. We will have sufficient resources to meet demand from 1 January 2021 when checks of high-priority plants from the EU begin, and July 2021 when we will have arrived at our end-state regime, to ensure minimal disruption to trade. As of 14 December, APHA has more than 300 fully trained Plant Health inspectors undertaking a wide range of roles across England and Wales, with a further c150 staff completing their training and further new recruits to be onboarded before the end of December. Some of the additional staff recruited and trained will be dedicated to plant imports, with flexibility to expand the number from within the overall resource pool, based on demand.

Tree Planting

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that uprooted mature trees are replanted.

Rebecca Pow: We will publish a new England Tree Strategy in spring, setting out plans to plant and protect trees across the country, including in towns and cities and on our streets.The Government is committed to seeing more trees planted and has a general policy against permanent loss of woodland cover. The management and replanting of trees is managed through the felling licence regime. Trees uprooted without human intervention, such as through windthrow, decay or lightning strike, are exempt from the need for a felling licence regime as this is part of the natural woodland life cycle.

River Severn: Flood Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to allocate long-term funding to flood defences along the River Severn in response to increased risk of flooding as a result of climate change.

Rebecca Pow: The River Severn Partnership (RSP) is led by the Environment Agency (EA) alongside Shropshire Council. It has united local authorities, local enterprise partnerships, water companies through the Water Resources West group, the EA and Natural Resources Wales. The RSP will deliver a long-term programme addressing water management across the Severn Catchment. This will be achieved through a proactive, coordinated and collaborative approach to flood risk management, water quality, environmental enhancement and an integrated approach to water resource management to deal with the impacts of climate change. The EA is updating the River Severn modelling and flood mapping to incorporate the latest available data. The £250,000 grant-in-aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021. This new model will also deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and will inform our advice in response to proposals to develop within the catchment. The EA in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment is currently putting together the next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 – 2027/28. The emerging Severn Valley water management plan seeks to reduce the risk of flooding from the River Severn for nearly 3,000 homes and businesses. The proposals aim to explore options of storing flood water to reduce the amount of water flowing down the river at times of flood, while also looking at ways to store it for use when needed.

River Severn: Flood Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to plan for potential flooding along the River Severn over the Christmas 2020 period.

Rebecca Pow: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 December 2020, PQ UIN 125221.In addition the Environment Agency (EA) continues to work alongside Local Resilience Forums to plan, exercise and prepare for responding to flooding. The EA is ready to provide its flood warning service and to deploy local flood protection measures and barriers along the River Severn. The EA would welcome the hon. Member’s support to urge his constituents to remain vigilant and take steps to protect themselves from the risk of flooding by signing up for free flood warnings via Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or by visiting the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister of State for Immigration plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Warley of 5 November 2020 on Mr Ellis.

Kevin Foster: The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration responded on 16 December 2020.

Knives: Crime

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

Kit Malthouse: This Government is determined to turn the tide on knife crime in all areas, wherever it occurs. Across England and Wales, we are recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023 and the amount of funding available to the policing system for 2020/21 will increase by up to £1.1 billion, totalling £15.2 billion. Staffordshire Police will receive up to £211.1 million in 2020-21, an increase of 7.3% from 2019-20. Staffordshire have also been allocated 90 additional officers in the first year of uplift. As at 30 September 2020, the force is +55 officers into uplift against its baseline and is therefore well on its way towards its year one allocation.We have tightened the law on knives through the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, which also introduced Knife Crime Prevention Orders. We have recently completed a public consultation on the introduction of Serious Violence Reduction Orders, to make it easier for the police to stop and search those who have been convicted of knife crime. While it is vital that the police have the resources and powers they need to tackle knife crime and serious violence, this is not a matter for the police alone. It is important that we also invest in prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn into violence in the first place. This is why we have invested a further £200 Million through the 10-Year Youth Endowment Fund to ensure those most at risk are given the opportunity to turn away from violence and lead positive lives. In addition, through the Early Intervention Youth Fund, which ran from 2018-2020, Staffordshire received £392,700 to develop a coordinated local approach to tackling serious violence.

Fraud: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of covid-19 related fraud; and what steps she is taking to prevent those offences.

James Brokenshire: The Government is aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes. We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crimeOur efforts include working alongside the National Cyber Security Centre to establish a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service. This service allows the public to report potential scams safely and effectively. To date, this has led to the removal of over 22000 scams. Members of the public can forward suspicious emails to the dedicated email address: report@phishing.gov.ukWe are also working with the Cabinet Office, who lead on the response to public sector fraud, around tracking and mitigating the risk of fraud against the unprecedented levels of stimulus funding including the bounce back loan scheme.

Cabinet Office

Veterans: Commonwealth

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assistance the Government provides to veterans from the Commonwealth at risk of deportation from the UK.

Johnny Mercer: There are long-standing arrangements in place for non-UK personnel, including those from the Commonwealth, who have served in the Armed Forces to apply for citizenship and settlement either during or at the end of their service. These are set out in the Armed Forces Appendix to the immigration regulations and the Government is currently exploring how to further improve these systems.The Government is unaware of any deportation action in progress against any veterans of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces at this time and any such action would require authorisation by Ministers. However, any former member of the Armed Forces who have not previously applied for settlement, who wishes to change their immigration status in the UK or who wishes to have their case re-examined is entitled to make an application to the Home Office to have their case looked at.Veterans UK’s provide the same level of support to Foreign and Commonwealth veterans as they do to any other veteran. They provide relevant advice, information and support to meet veterans individual needs and requirements, including immigration and naturalisation issues. This support continues for as long as required as part of our commitment to providing ‘through-life support’ to veterans

Equality: Impact Assessments

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he will publish her Department's equalities impact assessments on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on women.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. An equality analysis was completed for the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629244/European_Union__Withdrawal__Bill_equality_analysis.pdf

Civil Servants: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of civil service jobs based outside London in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.

Julia Lopez: The Government has committed to ensuring that the administration of Government is less London-centric by relocating 22,000 Civil Service roles out of central London and into the regions and nations of the United Kingdom by the end of the decade.The Cabinet Office, through the Places for Growth programme, will make further announcements on this programme in the usual way.

Civil Servants: Pay

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average pay is of civil servants in Wakefield constituency.

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Department has the largest number of staff working in (a) Wakefield constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

Julia Lopez: The Cabinet Office does not hold the data requested by constituency.As at 31 March 2020, HM Revenue & Customs was the largest employer of civil servants in West Yorkshire.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish the terms of reference of the review of trade impacts modelling with an external panel chaired by Professor Tony Venables announced on 1 July 2020; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The?Modelling Review Expert Panel (MREP)?will support the development of the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) modelling capability by making sure that decisions related to the modelling of trade policies meet our mandate and objectives – and are informed by the best possible academic perspective. The terms of reference specify the following objectives:To determine what modelling capability will best support DIT’s trade policy objectives;To explore what economic impacts from trade should and can be feasibly captured in a trade modelling framework; andTo evaluate whether DIT’s current modelling capability sufficiently meets DIT’s needs and to identify where alternative or complimentary approaches may be required.The MREP will serve solely as an external advisory panel and will not have authority or oversight on DIT research or policy. The MREP will not be asked to actively model a live agreement.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Bingo

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the role that bingo halls play in combating social isolation and loneliness.

Nigel Huddleston: A report by GambleAware in 2016 found that 94% of bingo players played because it was fun, and 85% to socialise, while 58% found it provided intellectual stimulation. As well as an opportunity to socialise, players reported it was a chance to be around other people (69%) and somewhere patrons could feel safe even when they are on their own (76%).This government is committed to tackling loneliness, having provided around £25 million of funding as part of the £750 million charity funding package to organisations which deliver activities that tackle social isolation and loneliness. We have inspired organisations to take action, establishing the Tackling Loneliness Network in June 2020 and encouraged people to reach out to others through our campaign 'Let's Talk Loneliness’.

Digital Technology: Carbon Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Royal Society's report entitled, Digital Technology and the Planet, published on 3 December 2020, what plans he has to establish (a) frameworks for collecting, sharing and using data for net zero applications and (b) a taskforce for digitalisation of the net zero transition.

Mr John Whittingdale: As set out in the Prime Minister’s recent Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, now is the time to take bold steps to tackle climate change, and officials are working across Government to ensure we are delivering on this in a coordinated fashion. We welcome the Royal Society’s contribution and are currently considering the recommendations in their report.The National Data Strategy, published this September, recognises the potential for better data use to contribute towards finding solutions to the climate crisis, including by supporting the UK’s net zero target for 2050. The consultation on the strategy included a question on Government's role in ensuring data does not negatively contribute to carbon usage.We are currently in the process of analysing consultation responses and will update on next steps in due course.

Digital Technology

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the Government's new Digital Strategy.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to driving growth in the digital sector and wider economy, and to ensuring that we maximise the benefits of a digital-led economic recovery. We will ensure that the Digital Strategy supports these objectives, both in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and into the future.We are continuing to consider the best timeframe for delivering the strategy, in light of the broader national context including the Covid-19 pandemic. We are currently working towards publishing in 2021.

Arts: Finance

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future funding to support the arts in (a) Coventry and (b) the UK.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government recognises the huge contribution the arts and culture sector makes, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. It is for this reason that we have invested an unprecedented £1.57 billion, the biggest ever one-off cash injection, into UK culture to tackle the crisis facing our most loved arts organisations and heritage sites across the country including Coventry, which is to be our next City of Culture.The Arts Council has allocated over £500k from its Emergency Response Fund to Coventry including £68k to individuals. The Culture Recovery Fund has awarded over £6 million in funding (as of 17 December) to arts and heritage organisations in Coventry to help support them through the current Covid-19 outbreak.In addition ACE allocated £3.4m, to Coventry City of Culture Trust (delivery body) to ensure Coventry’s success as City of Culture. The arts and cultural sector is instrumental to Coventry’s success and the Trust have; employed local art/cultural freelancers, invested in cultural infrastructure and during the first lockdown initiated a resilience fund for the local arts community. Coventry will be one of the first to host major events post Covid and, whilst challenges have been posed by the pandemic, their activity and programming has provided a much needed injection of cash into the sector and supported artists in the region, nationally and internationally.Throughout this crisis, the government’s priority has been to protect people's jobs and livelihoods. At this year's Spending Review, we confirmed that the government has now spent over £280 billion this year.

Video Games: Prices

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent the (a) use of automated bots to bulk purchase new releases of gaming consoles and computer components and (b) resale of such products at inflated prices.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent the use of automated bots to bulk purchase new releases of gaming consoles and computer components and to prevent their resale at inflated prices.

Caroline Dinenage: Officials are discussing this issue with the trade association for the video games industry, Ukie. We know that bulk purchasing through automated bots is a concern for some of their members who we understand are currently looking at any further actions they can take to prevent these behaviours, and are working with their retailers to improve experiences for customers.

Internet: Older People

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2020 to Question 126026 on Digital Technology, how many people over the age of 50 with earnings below £20,000 a year are internet users; and what plans his Department has to introduce targets for digital inclusion.

Caroline Dinenage: Data from the 2019 Oxford Internet Survey (https://oxis.oii.ox.ac.uk/reports/) shows that 40 percent of those aged 50 and over, and with household earnings below £20,000 per year, are internet users. My department is not currently planning to introduce targets for digital inclusion.